Significant growth in rugby participation rates across Mayo

A 32% growth in participant rates of rugby in Mayo has been referenced at a meeting of Mayo County Council’s strategic policy committee dealing with planning and corporate development.

Connacht Rugby participation manager Lyndon Jones said the work of the county's development officer, Simon O’Malley, is paying dividends with the sport making positive strides both on and off the pitch.

Mr. Jones is eager for the game to continue to flourish.

He stated: “There are currently six rugby clubs in Mayo and Connacht Rugby wants more people to participate in the sport.

"Connacht Rugby’s vision, ‘One Connacht from Grassroots to Green Shirts’, is not about a child going from Under 8s rugby to eventually playing for Connacht. It is more about inclusion.

“We want a strong, diverse and inclusive Connacht rugby community. We want to provide an opportunity for people to play whatever form of rugby that they wish, be it non-contact rugby/tag rugby, play for a local club, or indeed go on to play for Connacht and Ireland. Whatever their aspirations or goals, then we want to be able to provide those opportunities for them.

“We have a club and community department, and that has its own entity which deals with clubs in Connacht, schools, and so on, and that is where the development officer comes in.

“When the officer goes into a national school in Mayo their first task is to make sure that the kids enjoy rugby and their experience.

“Ultimately, we want people to be involved for life in rugby, whether that’s on or off the pitch.”

Connacht Rugby has pathways to supports girls’ participation in rugby through schools and supporting their clubs. The women’s development officers support girls’ sections in rugby clubs.

Connacht Rugby wants to see more connections between schools and their local clubs by supporting existing school structures within the county and establish club and school links.

Rice College and Westport Rugby Club is an example of this happening now, and Connacht Rugby is eager to support schools with new rugby programmes as well.

There are 26 secondary schools in Mayo and the aim is to get schools new to rugby involved in the sport, be that a contact or non-contact game.

One of Connacht Rugby’s key initiatives is to organise Under 14 rugby festivals in every school term in Mayo involving both boys and girls.

Connacht Rugby delivers rugby sessions to schools with high foreign national populations. The Mayo development officer visited residents at Breaffy House at a recent Africa Day event which was run by Mayo Sports Partnership, and the rugby sessions proved popular for those involved.

There is an inclusion rugby setup within Castlebar Rugby Club, and it takes place a total of eight weeks every year, with a recent event attracting 29 participants.

Various special schools across the province are involved in the inclusion events.The meeting was told that since Simon O’Malley took up the position as Connacht Rugby Mayo development officer in 2022, there has been a 32% growth in people participating in rugby within the county, which is incredible progress.